Colbie Caillat has released a new video for her song “Try” where she and several other women start the video in full makeup and hair, and slowly peel back the layers of artifice until they end the video with bare, smiling faces. A lot of coverage of the video and song are focusing purely on the anti-makeup message, but looking at the lyrics Caillat actually asks listeners if they like themselves which seems like a more powerful message.

The song addresses different social pressures young women face, and at the beginning the repeated line is “Do they like you?” before changing later to “Do you like you?” Maybe it’s because I happen to be someone who doesn’t wear makeup on a day to day basis, but I find the message of self-acceptance and self-love more important than the usual platitudes about being beautiful without makeup. Though it is always nice to see women in pop culture willing to show what they look like without the usual enhancements and retouching.

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Comments Are Welcome, Bigots and Trolls Are Not

BlackRabbit

Is it weird that the header photo is kinda creepy to me?

Gill R

It's a good, positive and much-needed message. But (and this goes for the rash of similar "be yourself/love yourself" videos I've seen lately) it will never really mean anything until the artists who preach it, live it. Consistently and publicly. I'm not saying that women should never wear make-up, however there's a significant difference between enhancing one's features and looking like a different person.

But it's a start.

BlackRabbit

It's a hard thing-you have to be prepackaged and made up pretty to become famous and influential enough that you can make a video like this and don't have to be prepackaged and made up pretty to become more famous and influential.

Gill R

Well put!

PuraPuma

This video was great. That word 'try' over and over got to me because that's what I do. I try hard, everyday, to look my best. I do whatever it takes to fight the aging process. I work out. I don't wear a ton of makeup but I don't leave home without it either. Well done Cobie! Maybe I won't try so hard and try to like me today.

Naye

I really like this video. I wear makeup, how much depends on the day, but usually i'm only concerned about my eyebrows, but in this day where a lot of women are Instagram famous, I see beautiful women and think "who do you look like" with all of the fake eyelashes and the tons of eye makeup, big fake butts, and perfect weave (I cant lie I do a lot to my hair out of boredom). They all look the same, and with filters and whatnot I can't tell what makes the individual! What happened to non traditional beauty?